The invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus comprising an apparatus housing, a chassis arranged inside the apparatus housing, apparatus parts arranged on the chassis and including at least one apparatus part arranged on the chassis so as to be movable, and at least one control device provided to control the movement of least one apparatus part arranged on the chassis so as to be movable, which at least one control device is mounted so as to be pivotable about a spindle, is movable between at least two operating positions relative to the chassis and the apparatus parts arranged thereon, and is coupled to a movable actuating device via a coupling device, which actuating device can be coupled to the control device via the coupling device in a given position relative to the chassis and the apparatus parts arranged thereon, and which is connected to a hand-actuated actuating member of the apparatus, which member is disposed at least partly outside the apparatus housing, the coupling device comprising a coupling element on the control device and on actuating device.
Such an apparatus of the type defined in the opening paragraph is known, for example, from AT 390,153 B. This known apparatus is a dictation machine for recording and reproducing dictations, which is hand-held in operation and which has a narrow slender rectangular apparatus housing. The device receives a cassette containing a magnetic tape and accommodating two rotatable reel hubs for taking up the magnetic tape, i.e. one forward reel hub and one reverse reel hub. A chassis of this known apparatus carries a pivotably mounted bearing block which rotatably supports a drive shaft and a toothed wheel, which is coaxial with and locked in rotation to the drive shaft. The drive shaft comprises a friction-wheel drive portion for driving a forward-winding-mandrel wheel which is coaxial with a forward winding mandrel, which can be brought into driving engagement with the forward reel hub in a cassette. The toothed wheel which is coaxial with and locked in rotation to the drive shaft serves for driving a reverse-winding-mandrel wheel which is rotatably supported on the chassis and which is coaxial with a reverse winding mandrel, which can be brought into driving engagement with the reverse reel hub in a cassette. To control the actuation of the bearing block together with the drive shaft and the toothed wheel on this shaft the known apparatus has a control device comprising a spring-loaded two-arm control lever, which is supported so as to be pivotable about a spindle on the chassis, the bearing block being coupled to one of the lever arms of this lever. The free end of the other lever arm of the control lever forms a coupling element of a coupling device which couples the control lever to an actuating device. In the present case the actuating device is formed by an actuating slide which extends substantially rectilinearly along a longitudinal side wall of the apparatus housing, which slide has one of its two ends connected to a slide button, which forms an actuating member and which is slidable along said longitudinal side wall, through a passage in this longitudinal side wall and whose other end forms a further coupling element of said coupling device to couple the actuating device and the control device.
In this known apparatus the arrangement of the chassis and the apparatus parts mounted on the chassis in relation to the apparatus housing has been selected in such a manner that a connecting line between the two winding mandrels, which are rotatably supported on the chassis, extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the narrow slender rectangular apparatus housing, said actuating member being situated on said longitudinal side wall of the apparatus housing. Thus, in the known apparatus the chassis and the parts mounted thereon, on the one hand, and the actuating member, on the other hand, occupy a certain position relative to one another, which position is dictated by the arrangement of the chassis in the apparatus housing and cannot be changed.